Yankees vs. Red Sox: A Historic Night

The latest between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees kicked off on Tuesday evening, marking a memorable moment in their ongoing rivalry.

This time, the Yankees made baseball history, though, disappointingly, not in the way they had hoped during the postseason.

Both teams showcased their top pitchers, with Garrett Crochet for the Red Sox and Max Fried for New York. Both hurlers performed well; Fried lasted 6.2 scoreless innings, while Crochet allowed just one run over eight innings, impressively retiring 17 consecutive batters at one point.

Interestingly, his final pitch of the night was also his fastest.

The Red Sox edged ahead 2-1 in the seventh inning when pinch hitter Masataka Yoshida smacked a line drive past relief pitcher Luke Weaver, scoring Seddanne Rafaela and Nick Soguard.

Boston tacked on another run in the ninth after New York recorded two quick outs. Shortstop Trevor Story hit a single and, after a lengthy video review confirmed it, he successfully stole second base, putting himself in scoring position.

This extra run loomed large for the Red Sox. In the ninth, Aaron Judge faced Aroldis Chapman, who had preserved Crochet’s efforts in the eighth.

What happened next, however, was a surprise for the more than 47,000 fans at Yankee Stadium.

Paul Goldschmidt led off the ninth with a single, potentially bringing the MVP candidate to home plate. Chapman, aiming for a final save, allowed a single that moved Goldschmidt into scoring position and set up Cody Bellinger at the plate for a shot at victory.

Bellinger also singled to center, but third-base coach Louis Rojas hesitated to send Goldschmidt home in a 3-1 game, allowing the bases to be loaded instead.

This brought Giancarlo Stanton to the plate with a 51.3% chance of winning, according to ESPN.

Then came a significant moment in baseball history.

Chapman confronted Stanton with four pitches. The first three were clocked at 100 mph, and he finished with a 92-mile splitter. Jazz Chisholm Jr., coming in as a pinch hitter, lifted a fly ball into right that wasn’t deep enough to allow Goldschmidt to tag up.

New York’s last hope lay with Trent Grisham, who was unable to convert. Chapman struck him out with a blazing 101-mile fastball, closing the game.

In the end, here’s how the Yankees made history.

According to OptaStats, they became the first team in MLB playoff history to load the bases in the ninth inning without any outs and still fail to score, ultimately losing the game.

Not quite the record one would expect to see at Yankee Stadium.

New York aims to keep their playoff hopes alive with Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against Boston looming.